Mendoza, Argentina. I’ve tried many wines from this region – and not just Malbec. In fact, I’ve found Argentinian Malbec to be a 50/50 proposition for me. I’ve loved some and really not liked others. I have however, loved many Cabernet Sauvignons, Chardonnays, and even a Patagonian Pinot Noir Rose.

I was unprepared for the actual experience of Mendoza. The people. The wine. The food. Dear Lord, the food. All of these things are exceptional, but together they create an experience that is magical.

The biggest surprise for me – and I feel like I should have known this, but didn’t – was the fact that Mendoza is (was?) a desert. I ask was because the region is covered with glorious green and growing things. Not, just grapevines. The streets are lined with Canadian maple trees. There are groves of olive trees, Spanish, Italian, and French. All of these things have been imported into this desert region and irrigated with snowmelt from the bordering Andes mountains. .

I asked about those imported olive trees – is the olive oil Argentinian, or do they retain the origin of where they came from? It turns out, over the years they have cross pollinated into a unique DNA strain of olive tree – Argentinian. That is SO fascinating!

Manmade ditches along the roads in downtown Mendoza, and throughout the region, were created not for drainage, but for irrigation. The region seriously gets no rain – about 1″ per year. Our guide told us that when it rains in Mendoza, it is such a rare event that everyone stays in the house, school is cancelled etc.

My husband and I took a full day wine tour of the Lujan du Cayo region of Mendoza through a company called Trout and Wine. They do fly fishing tours to the Andes and they do wine tours, so, Trout & Wine. The day was absolutely fantastic, but the lunch we had – one of the best meals of our lives.

Our tour driver and guide picked us up at our hotel, along with a few other people, and we visited three wineries, plus lunch at another: Terazzas de Andes, Bueger Winery, Leyda for lunch, and Alta Vista.

The lunch at Zonda, on the Leyda Winery property was incredible. I wish had taken more pictures but the food was such an experience, I was too busy being in the moment which is never something to regret.

Every aspect, from the details at our place setting to the atmosphere of the restaurant to the food were exceptional. I bought wine at each stop and will write about each winery when I open those wines.

In the meantime, I wanted to share the region itself. We stayed in downtown Mendoza at the Diplomatic Hotel. Staying downtown turned out to be great option for a first time visit, especially since it was short. We were centrally located enough to access the airport and the three major wine regions of Mendoza: Maipu, Lujan de Cuyo, and even Valle de Uco if we wanted, but Valle de Uco was a bit far. We also were able to experience a little of the City of Mendoza which was easy to do on foot.

Our first stop after a mid-morning flight from Buenos Aires was lunch. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and we walked to Estancia La Florencia – I do love Florence so why not try some Argentinian beef a la Florentine sytle lol! This restaurant was a recommendation of one of my husband’s co-workers in Bueonos Aires and we really loved it. We did not expect the portions, but we were starving so it worked out all right. Insider tip, when ordering steak in Argentina, chorizo has nothing to do with sausage and refers to the cut of the steak, which is New York strip.

We also enjoyed this beautiful bottle of 2016 Malbec from Bodegas Sin Fin. We were off to a good start.

We spent the afternoon and early evening exploring downtown Mendoza, here are some of the sights:

I cannot explain why this city worker using an actual dead palm frond as broom makes me so happy but it does. Look how good it works!

On our last night – after a full day of winetasting and that absolutely show stopping lunch, we decided for a late dinner in at a local pizza joint. Our pizza was like an open face empanada with the eggs and olives, but it was just what we needed.

On last note is that we found the pricing and conversion rate to be very favorable in Argentina, especially when compared to Chile. After we arrived home, I kept getting credits on my credit card statement that were adjustments due to conversion rate, but they were in our favor, so even after we were amazed at how affordable everything was, it ended up being even more affordable. I have no way of knowing which credits were for which transactions so how much any one thing cost is kind of a big mystery lol!

Our visit to Buenos Aires and Argentina was wonderful in so many ways. I learned so much and the people were so incredible. They call the United States a melting pot, but Argentina most assuredly is as well.